Onramp raises $12.5M Series A at $135M valuation to scale bitcoin custody platform
What's the deal? Onramp, an Austin-based bitcoin-centric financial services platform, has raised a $12.5M Series A round at a $135M valuation, led by Early Riders with participation from strategic angel investors. The company, which has custodied more than $1 billion in assets with zero security incidents since its founding, plans to use the capital to scale its neo banking-like product Onramp Finance, expand partnerships with banks and fintechs, and extend its Multi-Institution Custody (MIC) infrastructure to additional regulated custodians worldwide.
Why now? Bitcoin is increasingly blending with traditional assets in serious investors' portfolios, but custody infrastructure has lagged. For over a decade, the industry has been stuck between two imperfect choices: single-custodian risk through exchanges or funds, or the operational burden of self-custody. Onramp's MIC model distributes key control across independent regulated entities — including BitGo, Coincover, and Tetra Trust — while preserving on-chain verifiability.
The architecture has gained institutional credibility. Cartwright became the first UK pension fund to allocate to bitcoin and chose Onramp as its custodian. The Bitcoin Policy Institute has endorsed MIC as the preferred custody method for state strategic bitcoin reserves.
"We built Onramp for people who measure outcomes in decades," said Michael Tanguma, founder and chief executive officer. "MIC is more than custody. It's a new design surface for lending, IRAs, prime brokerage, and the financial products bitcoin holders have been waiting for."
What could go wrong? Onramp's model depends on coordinating multiple independent custodians across jurisdictions — a structure that introduces operational complexity as it scales globally. The company also operates in a regulatory landscape that remains in flux, particularly for bitcoin custody and lending products. And while $1 billion in assets under custody is a milestone, it remains modest compared to incumbents in the space.
The signal: The raise reflects a broader market shift toward institutional-grade bitcoin infrastructure that mirrors traditional finance. As pension funds, RIAs, and wealth managers move into bitcoin, they need custody solutions that look and feel like the systems they already trust — not crypto-native exchanges or DIY key management. Onramp is betting that the custody layer is the foundation for a full financial services stack, from retirement accounts to inheritance planning, all built around bitcoin. If that thesis holds, it positions multi-institution custody as a critical piece of plumbing for the next phase of bitcoin adoption.
Read more: globenewswire.com
